Actually, Larry David Isn’t So Sure When to Stop Saying Happy New Year After All

It’s the third of January, a day when Internet smartasses all over the world rush to post the “Happy New Year” rule on their social media accounts.Today is the deadline! Say it now or hold your tongue for a year! So sayeth the bard of social customs, Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David.

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According to Larry’s logic, today marks the end of the Happy New Year wishes until 2025. Any salutations after that are “a little late.” Why the ban? Two weeks is “too long,” he argues. “Statute of limitations has kind of run out on the new year. Three days? Plenty.”

Even Cracked has dispensed the advice to withhold new-year salutations beyond January 3. But is that actually the last allowable day? Here’s someone who disagrees with Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 10 Larry David — and it just happens to be Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 11 Larry David.

Fast-forward to approximately the one-minute mark of the clip. David is going door-to-door canvassing for a local politician. “Where does he stand on the issues?” asks a potential voter.

“You can’t say ‘Happy New Year’ after January 7th,” says David, completely invalidating his Season 10 rule by adding four days to the statute of limitations. 

For what it’s worth, Potential Voter is all for the revised guideline. “I like that, very smart,” he says. “Last year, I got a ‘Happy New Year’ during Black History Month.’”

So there you have it. According to Curb Season 11 Larry David, you have until Sunday, January 7th to wish someone a happy 2024. But we should probably let one other voice weigh in before we make a final determination.

Yep, it’s real-life Larry David, providing an extension once again. On Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, the host extends a “Happy New Year” to his online audience before revealing, “I’m going to ask our guest today who likes to put these lists together according to the dossier, ‘When do we stop saying Happy New Year? How long? What’s the window? When can we stop it with this?”

David’s response is emphatic: “January 11th!”

On the one hand, David’s 2014 answer predates the Curb Your Enthusiasm rules. On the other hand, this is the real Larry David, not his fictional counterpart so isn’t January 11th the definitive answer? It won’t be a problem for the actual guy no matter the date. “I only receive ‘Happy New Year,’” he confirms. “Never give. It sounds awful coming from my mouth because it’s insincere.” 

So it’s settled? We have until January 11th? Leave it to Pollak to add further confusion: “I was going to say the ninth.”